The story of Legacy Grace and Dexter Vex
by gemmajac
Summary: This is the story of Legacy Grace, her struggle to control her powers and her love for Dexter Vex. There is also some Ganith and Valduggery. Not recommended for young ones i.e. peeps under age 15. This is my first go at fanfic so be gentle with me in reviews. I appreciate feedback and ideas especially on making characters more true to the books. Disclaimer: I own nothing *sadness*
1. It was a Tuesday

The first time I saw him

I met him on a Tuesday. It was lunch time and he was ordering a coffee, one spot in front of the line that I was. He was tall, and had a nice figure, with enough muscle to be buff but not enough to seem intimidating. I was at a café with some friends from uni class and we were having lunch. They sent me up to the counter to get more drinks as they do, because I hardly ever said no to things like that. I was too nice apparently. He turned around drink in hand and bumped right into me, spilling hot coffee all over my white blouse.

I jumped backwards and hissed in pain as the liquid seeped through my shirt and onto my skin, burning me. He used his air magic, as an elemental to dry the mess up quickly and grabbed my shoulders to steady me as I was about to fall over, trying to get away from this idiot who wasn't looking where he was going. I looked up to see his face staring at me with concern. He was beautiful and I was speechless. His blond hair fell down over his eyes a little bit and his face was soft and kind looking.

"Are you ok?" he asked, a little embarrassed probably because he wasn't this clumsy, which was the excuse I was going to hear in a minute no doubt. "I wasn't looking where I was going, sorry. But I am known to be clumsy so it can't be helped. Can I buy you a coffee to make up for spilling mine on you?" He smiled a little as he straightened me up and stepped back a bit. I looked over at my friends, Amy and Ben to see that they were laughing so hard at my complete lack of game. Well I would just have to prove them wrong now won't I? They could get their own drinks.

"Sure, that would be great." I said confidently and looked back up at this stranger to see that he was smiling happily. He turned back around to the counter and asked them for two more coffees and asked them to bring them over to his table as he didn't want to spill them if he did it himself. He really knew how to charm people. The lady at the counter, she looked to be about two of three years older than me, but this was a sorcerer's café so god knows how old she really is, was just about as red as a tomato blushing at this guy's handsome compliments and charm.

I declared at that moment in my mind that I would not get caught up in his whimsical ways. I did not need that right now, especially with exams around the corner. He led me to a table at the back of the room, just out of sight from my friends and pulled out a chair for me. I sat and then watched as he took his own. "So, do you spill coffee on people often?" I asked a little harsher than I had meant it to sound. He laughed a hearty laugh and smiled at me. "No, this is the first time I have done that. Again, I am really sorry." I smiled back at him, as he obviously was being sincere.

I wondered who he was and what he did. He looked like he would be good at doing anything. I blushed as I imagined him doing something to me that really wasn't appropriate considering that I had only met him five minutes ago. He looked at me curiously and I looked down, brushing me hair in front of my face to hide my blush. "What's your name?" He asked after a few minutes of awkward silence. I looked up again to see that our coffee had just arrived and I went to take a sip before answering. "Legacy Grace and you?" I wiped froth of my face after I said it, as I noticed in the reflection of his sunglasses that were hanging off of his shirt that I had some on my face.

"Dexter Vex." He said and I nearly spit out my next sip of coffee. No wonder Amy and Ben had been laughing so hard at me. This was the Dexter Vex. One of the dead men, legendary and badass. I looked at him again and realised that he perfectly matched the description that Amy had given me after she went to the sanctuary one time and had seen him there with Skulduggery and Valkyrie. I couldn't believe it though. I was actually having a conversation with a dead men member. Wow. I realised that I may have been staring so I composed myself and reverted to my usual sarcastic self.

"And how's that working out for you?" I asked, not really sure that I could say anything else that wouldn't give away my awe of being in his presence. He was basically a celebrity, in the magical community anyway. "Great, I think." He responded with a chuckle. His voice sounded smooth and deep with a hit of amusement mixed in that made me laugh too. "Well that's good." This conversation was going nowhere and I lost all hope of it ever coming back from the grave yard it had entered.

"I like you." He said and I stared at him in shock and disbelief. I think that if my jaw could detach from my head it would have ran away, I was so shocked. He chuckled again at my expression and continued. "You're interesting." Was that a good thing or a bad thing, I wondered, as I picked up my jaw from its resting place on the ground. "What do you do?" he asked me.  
>"I'm in university. I'm studying magical history." A look of recognition washed over his face. "So that's why you basically had a heart attack when I told you who I was?" he asked, now looking as if he was trying not to laugh. I nodded and blushed, looking down at my half empty cup of coffee.<p>

"Well, at least you don't hate me like some of the other Sorcerer's around here do. Just because I had a remnant stuck in me for a while doesn't mean I changed much and I certainly didn't do any of those things. It was the remnant. I don't even remember half of if." I looked on as he raged about how he really hated remnants and tuned out most of what he was saying. I was still in awe of the fact that he was actually talking to me. Why, I wondered, was he talking to me in the first place? He could have just apologised for spilling his coffee on me and left, without any of the fuss of doing this but here he was doing it.

He looked at me expectantly and I realised that I had completely zoned out and went off into my own little world. I smiled sheepishly. "Could you repeat the question?" I asked, assuming that he had, in fact asked one. "I was wondering what you where day dreaming about. You were completely oblivious to what I was saying the last ten minutes so I gave up. I have been staring at you for the last two with no reaction, so I thought I should say something just in case you have some kind of disorder. You could have been dying right in front of me and I wouldn't have known what was going on. And I really like to be able-"

"I was daydreaming not having an epileptic fit so calm down. I was just wondering why you were talking to me. You could have just apologised to me and left with no hassle, but you didn't. Why?" I interrupted him and he looked annoyed at that but his attitude changed when I asked him why. "I heard you laughing over with your friends and found it beautiful, your laugh I mean." I blushed and picked at a strand of my hair, twirling it around my finger as he called my laugh beautiful. Nobody had ever said that about me before.

"I thought to myself, anyone who has such a beautiful laugh is worth knowing and so I was going to come over and talk to you but then I saw that you had left your seat. You were gone and I had lost my chance. But when I turned around at the counter and saw you standing behind me I was so startled that I spilt my drink and it ended up on you. I had an excuse to talk to you. I come here very Tuesday and I've seen you before, either reading or studying or talking to your friends and I couldn't help but be intrigued." I stared at him again, I was shocked. He found me that interesting? Wow. "I don't know what to say…" I trailed off and took a big drink of my coffee. "How about you say yes to having dinner with me on Friday night?" He asked and I nodded before I could stop myself.


	2. Dinner

Dinner

I spent a lot of time trying different out fits for my date with Dexter, but nothing looked good enough. Finally I settled on a long black dress that flowed out from the hips slightly, and was not too tight that it made me look fat. I also put on some black flats. It was perfect, bringing out my figure, flattering the good bits and hiding the bad bits. I put on a pale blue blazer over the top and some jewellery; earrings and a necklace.

I grabbed my small, black shoulder back and went out into the kitchen to wait for a knock on my door. After about ten minutes my phone rang and Dexter's number flashed on the screen. I picked up the phone and said "Hello." There was the hum of a car running on the other end and then Dexter's voice appeared. "Hey, I'm lost, the directions you gave me suck. Can you help me?" He asked and I laughed into the phone. I gave him the directions one at a time and guided him from where he was to my house. I waited outside and hung up the phone when he came into view.

He drove a black Lexus and pulled up against the curb. He got out of the car and I saw that he was in a black suit and white shirt. He looked handsome, and I could tell that we were going somewhere fancy. He came over and kissed me on the cheek which made me shiver. He held out his arm and I took it, leading us over to his car. He opened the door for me and I got in.

As we drove, we talked. "You look very beautiful Legacy." He said and I blushed, fiddling with my blazer. "And you look very ho—handsome." I was about to say hot, but thought that was a bad idea. Dexter was sophisticated and I don't think that the occasion called for teen slang so I stopped myself. He smiled a lopsided smile that made my heart melt inside my chest. The conversation stopped there, as we arrived at a barn in the middle of nowhere.

I really hoped in that moment that Dexter Vex wasn't some kind of closeted serial killer who had brought me out here to kill me. But then I saw lights and other cars had pulled up in front and behind us. Ok this was better. Or it could be a virgin sacrifice that was being performed by a bunch of crazy people. At this moment in time, I really hated the fact that I had an over active imagination. I looked over at Dexter as he parked the car. He looked back at me and saw my worried expression and burst out laughing. "I'm sorry." He said between gasps for breath. "But you look as though you've been kidnapped and think you're about to be murdered by a crazy person." As he said this he stopped laughing and realised that that was exactly what I looked like.

He took my hand and kissed it. "I did not bring you here to kill you. You will not be killed or hurt in any way. I probably should have told you where we were going. This is a sanctuary ball. And you are my date." He looked a bit amused as my face went from terrified to relaxed in the space of two seconds. He got out of the car and rushed over to my side of the car as I went to get out. He opened the door and held out his hand to help me out of the car.

As we walked towards the barn, I would hear music playing and people talking. He took my hand in his and pulled me faster towards the door. I smiled at his eagerness. He was such a weird person, but weird was good. Weird was my type. When we got inside I stopped in my tracks, awestruck by the view in front of me. There were candles everywhere and an orchestra in the back of the room. Their where people dancing the waltz in the middle and they looked stunningly beautiful. I suddenly felt self-conscious as I realised I was under dressed.

I looked to Dexter who wore a tie and dress shoes and I hit him on the shoulder. He looked at me in surprise as I did so. 'What was that for love?' he asked and I was slightly taken aback by the pet name but continued anyway. "You should have told me it was going to be a formal event. I'm dressed for a dinner not a ball." He looked frightened of my fury and took a step back. I laughed at this and he sighed in relief. "I literally though that you were going to kill me then. You can be a vicious little thing." He went over to a table full of drinks and food and asked one of the waiters to get something for him. He was then passed a box.

He walked back over to me and passed me the box. I looked at him, slightly confused as he led me into a room that was secluded from the rest of the party. "Open it." He said and so I did. What I saw took my breath away. It was a long elegant navy blue dress with a sweetheart neck line. It had ruffles and a flower at the waist. It was beautiful. I looked up at Dexter who looked pretty happy with my reaction. "Put it on." He said and then left.

I did as I was told, not wanting to stand out in the crowd. To my surprise, the dress fit perfectly and felt great on. It was really comfortable and made me look like I actually had hips and a butt. I folded up my other clothing and placed it neatly in the box. I stepped out of the room and looked around to try and find Dexter. When I finally found him, he was standing near the drinks table, two Champagne glasses in hand, talking to another incredibly good looking man. I walked over and as I did, they both look in my direction and their jaws dropped collectively. I wondered why but kept walking in their way. I stopped in front of them, and they were just staring at me.

'What is it? Do I have something on my face?" I asked, a little worried. The man I didn't know recovered first and said "No, there is nothing on your face. You are beautiful. That dress is beautiful on you." He took my hand and kissed it. "I'm Saracen Rue. I'm pleased to meet you." Wow. He was… I was… Speechless. I just stared at him in shock. "That's quite enough Saracen. I don't want my date stolen away from me in the first five minutes." He said with a hint of jealousy in his voice, but humour too so I knew they were friends.

"Can I at least get the beautiful lady's name Dexter?" He laughed and they both looked at me expectantly. 'I'm Legacy Grace." I said my voice a bit shaky, talking to these two loud, handsome men was a bit intimidating. "Well, save a dance for me later." He said and winked, walking over to talk to a tall good looking woman. She turned and looked at me for a moment and I felt tingly inside. She had a beautiful heart shaped face and a slim body. I shook my head, thinking why would I feel that way about her and turned back to Dexter who looked impressed. "That's China. I don't think I have ever met someone who isn't affected by her power. Anyone who looks at her falls in love with her instantly, you get used to if after a while but some people aren't as strong as that and they can't get over it. It's rather funny to see. But you weren't even affected. That's amazing. You're amazing."

I smiled as he passed me a drink and I took a sip. It was really good. Not that I haven't had champagne before, but I had never had anything like this. "Why would I be in love with her though? I don't even know her…" He shook his head in amazement and grabbed my drink back out of my hand and sat it down on the table. "May I have this dance?" He asked with a smirk as he bowed in front of me. "I don't know how…" I said sadly as I looked out onto the dance floor to see China and Saracen gliding around the room, outshining everyone else with their flow and precision.

"Well I do, and all you have to do is follow my lead. I'll do all the work." He said and pulled me onto the floor. His arm wrapped around my back and he pulled mine up so that one was resting in his and the other was on his shoulder. He then proceeded to move around the floor like China and Saracen were. Were glided in time with the music and it was so much more fun than I thought it was going to be.

After a couple of songs we left the dance floor laughing at something Dex had said and went to get another drink. "That was so much fun." I said and he looked at me sideways. "Have you never done that before?" He asked and I blushed. "I'm usually really bad at that kind of thing. I'm clumsy, unlike you. I trip over my own feel on a flat surface, I'm that bad, but that was something else. You're something else." I said and then downed my drink as I saw China and Saracen walking our way. Dex chuckled at my antics and walked forward to start up a conversation with China.

Saracen came to stand by me and noticed that my glass was empty. "Here, let me get you another drink." He said and took my glass out of my hand and replaced it with another. "So, you like Dexter." He said, more stating it than anything else. "Yeah, I guess I do." I said and turned to face him. He smiled at me and I wondered why he looked so sad. "Don't toy with him or lead him on, okay? I'm his friend and it's my responsibility to make sure his girlfriend's aren't assholes. Sorry but I find it hard not to be blunt. My power is… Well I can't tell you exactly what it is you see because I have never told anyone else. Dexter has been trying to find out what it is since we were teenagers. It's not really that big of a deal but I just really like to see him suffer." He chuckled at that, going of topic but I looked at him pointedly and he stopped laughing.

"Sorry, anyway, I know things. I know what happened to you parents a year ago and I know that you haven't had your surge yet and I know that Dexter doesn't know these things. I just want to make sure that your intentions with him are pure. I know his are." I looked away from him as I remembered what happened to my parent but shook the memory aside. I had only just met Dexter and didn't know where we were going in terms of a relationship. "We're only on our first date Saracen. I have no idea where it's going to go but I promise I will be as clear as to what my intentions are and will make sure he knows it too. I like him, I really do but I'm not sure yet, okay?" I said in a stern voice that made him look at me and smile.

"You're tough. I like that, Dexter needs that. I like you." I blushed as I remembered that Dex had said that when we first met on Tuesday. Dex and China walked over to join us and the conversation topic changed to a light hearted one. That of evening wear and the choices of this evening. I thought that everyone one looked great but China had particular opinions about certain people that she disliked, but had to put up with as she was Grand Mage of the Irish sanctuary. I think she was just bitching about them because that was the only thing she could do at the present time.

The evening went on like this, dancing and speaking to China and Saracen. I even had a couple of dances with Saracen. He was a better dancer that Dex, lighter on his feet, and we talked whilst we were dancing about little trivial things. We laughed and twirled and I thought I was starting to get a bit drunk as I had glass after glass of wine and champagne. Dex noticed this and swept us away from the crowd, saying good bye to his friends as he went, leading me out to his car. He somehow managed to grab the box full of clothing on our way.

He leaned me up against his car as he put it in the boot of his car. He then came back to stand in front of me. I was lightheaded and my face was red with heat. I giggled as I found him standing there staring at me hilarious for some reason. He shook his head at me, amused and opened the car door and I got inside. He went around to his side of the car and got in too. As we drove back to Roarhaven, the hum of the engine and the silence in the car lulled my to sleep.


	3. Breakfast

Breakfast

I woke up to find Dexter asleep next to me on a bed that I had never been in before. I looked around to see a bedroom that wasn't mine. My head pounded in my skull and I fell back against the pillows. Dexter probably brought me back to his place, there's no need to panic. I said to myself. I was under the covers and they were very comfortable. I looked over to Dexter to find that he was on top of the covers which was very nice of him I suppose.

He shifted and smiled as he opened his eyes. I do not know anyone who is happy to stop sleeping but apparently he was. He looked at me and his smile grew wider. "Good morning love, how are you?" He asked after a yawn. He sat up and I realised that he wasn't wearing a shirt. He had abs, really good, chiselled abs. I closed my eyes to stop myself from leaning over and touching them. He laughed at me and got up. I opened my eyes again to find that he was wearing black sweat pants.

"I'll go and start breakfast, what would you like to eat?" he asked and I thought about what kind of food would be good for a hangover. I couldn't think of any. "Whatever is fine." I said. I went to get up and realised that I was wearing a really large, baggy long sleeved top that smelt of Dexter. It went all the way down to my mid-thigh. I looked up at him and asked "When did I get changed?" He laughed and went over to his cupboard and pulled out the box of my clothing.

"You don't remember?" I shook my head. "You fell asleep in the car on the way home and I forgot where your house was so I brought you back here. You walked up here, half asleep, leaning on my shoulder and said 'I can't sleep in this dress, give me a top,' so I did and you put it on and fell asleep straight away. I pulled the blanket over you, but decided to sleep in here because my couch is really uncomfortable to sleep on."

He walked out of the room and I laid there for a few more minutes. There was no use being embarrassed about it I guess. It happened and I couldn't help it. I got up and walked down the hall and found the bathroom. I looked in his cupboard and found some toothpaste but no spare tooth brush. I shrugged and put some toothpaste on my finger and cleaned my teeth.

I went out to the kitchen and saw that Dex was making bacon and eggs on toast. I smiled and sat down on one of the bar stools near the island. I took one of the two glasses of orange juice that were poured and ready to go and took a sip. It was delicious; I had always loved orange juice especially with breakfast. "Do you need any help?" I asked and he turned around to see me sitting there still in his top and grinned.

"Nope, I'm good; you just sit there and enjoy the view." I laughed and did as he said as he turned back to the food. I looked at his back and his muscles moving under his skin as he worked. It was mesmerising. It made me want to get up and kiss his back, which was strange because I had never even been kissed before. I was a virgin in every single way possible and in my eighteen years of living I had never even really cared about it. But now I did. I wanted the confidence experience brought to a situation like this. I would be able to kiss him on the mouth and actually know what to do.

I heard my phone ring in his bedroom and walked up the hall to answer it. I found it in my bag, which was sitting next to the door and saw that it was Tanith. She was going to be pissed that I didn't come home last night. She and Ghastly had taken me in after my parents… and she didn't appreciate not knowing where I was. I answered the phone. "Hello?" There was silence on the other line for a moment. "Grace, it's me, Tanith. Why didn't you come home last night?" the tone of her voice was chilled and happy. I thanked whatever gods that existed that I wasn't in trouble.

"I just stayed over at a friend's place. Sorry I didn't call we went to a party and when we got home I was a bit too drunk to drive back so I stayed over. We basically passed out the moment we got home." It wasn't a complete lie and I was really glad that I had lent Ben my care for the weekend or she wouldn't have believed me. "Okay, well next time tell me beforehand. Ghastly and I were really worried. I'll see you tonight for dinner?" I agreed and hung up the phone.

Dexter called out to say that the food was ready and I walked back out to the kitchen to see that it was in deed. He had made enough to feed an army but I didn't call him out on it because I was starving. We sat at the kitchen counter, as Dexter didn't own a table and chairs and enjoyed our feast in silence. It was delicious. "You're a good cook." I said and smiled up at him. He laughed as he saw me, reaching over to wipe off some food from my chin.

I blushed and ducked my head after he pulled away, rubbing my hand over my face in frustration. Why did I always have to embarrass myself in front of him? First I got drunk and now I was eating like a pig, what was wrong with me? I ate considerably less after that, taking great care not to get any more all over my face. When we were done, we washed up all the dished and put the leftovers in the fridge. I realised that I still had bed hair as I ran my hand through it and found it to be sticking out at all angles. I blushed and turned towards Dexter.

He was sitting on the couch looking at me. 'Can I use the shower?" I asked and he nodded and got up to get me a towel. I went into his room, grabbed my clothes from out of the box and went into the bathroom. He handed me the towel in the doorway and then shut the door.

I was alone now and I stripped of his top, folding it up and putting it on the counter next to my other clothing. I opened the shower door and got inside. I turned the taps on, hot first then cold. I washed my hair and my body, and then stood under the water for a good ten minutes. He was going to think I was crazy, taking so long in here. I got out and used the towel he gave me to dry myself. I put on my dress, but pushed the shoulders down to my waist, rolling up the top half. I then put on his shirt again and tucked it into my dress so that it looked decent.

I looked in the mirror to see his long sleeved grey top hanging off of me and my dress, with what looked like a weird belt of sorts around the waist. The dress flowed down to my feet and swung around as I moved. If I spun around the dress would fly everywhere and I loved it to pieces. I put my hair up into a messy bun, using the knots as twists to disguise them and then I used the tooth paste again to brush my teeth with my finger and found some of his deodorant in the cupboard, spraying it so I didn't smell bad. I liked the smell of it though which was good, it would remind me of him all day.

I went back out into the lounge room and saw that Dexter was lying on the couch but sat up as he saw me. I blushed as he stared and looked down at my feet. I turned around and went into the kitchen, getting a glass of water to wash out the taste of tooth paste. He followed me in and leaned against the counter as he watched me. I did the same as I had my drink, wondering why he was staring at me. "You know, I rather like seeing you in my clothing." He said his voice deeper than usual.

I looked up from my glass to see that he had stepped forward. I put the glass down next to me on the counter and fiddled with my hands, knowing that he wanted to kiss me but not knowing what to do about it. He stepped closer again and I looked up finding his face nearly directly in front of mine. I leaned back a little bit and he leaned forward. I put my hand on his chest and pushed him back. He obliged and stepped back, looking at me curiously but saying nothing. "I… I don't…." I started but had no idea how to end the sentence. I wanted to kiss him, but I didn't know how. Should I tell him that I had never been kissed? But what if he saw through that and found out my age too. God this was an awkward situation. But he beat me to it.

"You're acting as if you've never been kissed." He said and I nodded. His eyes widened and I slumped against the counter, kind of ashamed at my inexperience. "Hey, it's nothing to be ashamed of Legacy, lots of people wait for these kinds of things. Do you want to wait?" He said and touched my chin, bringing it up to face him. I saw in his eyes that he was willing to wait for me but then realisation hit and he asked 'Are you a virgin?"

I nodded again, not ashamed as such just embarrassed at admitting this to someone I could potentially have sex with. He smiled and said "How old are you?" He was not going to like the answer to that, seeing as he was more than three hundred years old. "I'm eighteen." I said, and the look on his face morphed into that of astonishment. "I thought you were at least twenty five, if not older. You are too mature for your age."

I pulled away from him and went into his room, to get my things in order to leave. This conversation was like the ending to a novel, tying up loose ends, saying goodbye. I didn't want to hang around and make it awkward. 'I need to go." I said, tears welling up in my eyes. I headed for the door and realised that he had driven me here and I had no way of getting home. "Legacy, this changes nothing. I still like you. I like you a lot and I appreciate your honesty. We need to talk some more I think." He took my things from me and sat them on the counter in the kitchen and led me over to the couch and sat me down.

He sat down next to me and faced my way. I pulled my legs up under me into a half crossed position and shifted myself until I too was facing him. "I think you over reacted before." He said and I nodded wiping away my tears, looking up at him. "I think that you are amazing and I will wait for you to make the calls about those kinds of things." He was referring to sex, I could tell by the tone of his voice. It cracked a bit on the word things which gave it away. "Relationships are about getting to know each other and I want to know more about you. I think that we can focus on that if you'd like."

I smiled again and this time he took my hand and kissed it just like he had in the car last night. I shivered at the feel of his soft lips when they brushed over my skin. I moved closer to him instinctively and reached for his neck. I pulled him closer to me and into a hug, his arms wrapping around my waist and hugging me back tightly. I liked the feel of his body on mine and unconsciously pulled him closer to me. I thought, in that moment, that I wanted him. For some reason this shocked me as I had never really thought about someone in that way before.

"I want you to kiss me." I whispered in his ear. He pulled back and untied himself from my embrace, looking unsure if I actually spoke or if it was a voice in his head making things up. I said it again. "Kiss me." He smiled and leaned forward, moving us closer and closer together but not kissing until he knew I wasn't going to move away. My breathing got heavier as the anticipation gnawed at my stomach. I moved my hands up over his chest, feeling his hot skin under my own and wrapped my arms over his shoulders and around his neck again.

He looked me in the eyes and I him, he then pressed his lips to mine and my eyes closed; the feel of his lips on mine foreign but familiar. He kissed me and I kissed him back, our lips moving in time with each other, knowing exactly what to do. I leaned forward, my body taking over and sat up on my knees. I could feel Dex's hands move around my waist, holding me as I moved. He pulled back and looked at me once more. I was hungry for his touch and felt warm all over. I could see in his eyes that he wanted to go further but he didn't.

He moved away from me and stood up, walking over to the windows, that were floor length and had a great view of Roarhaven. I fell back against the couch and waited for him to speak. I wasn't exactly sure what I was thinking, doing that right after I had pushed him away for trying to kiss me before. I was seriously confused. But I liked the way his lips felt on mine and really wanted to kiss him again. My fingers went up to my lips and touched them lightly as they tingled, not used to getting so much action, or any for that matter.

Dexter turned around at that moment and looked at me fondly. I put my hand down in my lap and looked back up at him. "Well, you got that out of the way quickly." He said with a chuckle as he moved back to sit down next to me. He sat in the same position that I did; back against the couch and legs out straight, awkward. We sat there in silence for a while before I decided that I wanted to touch his skin again. It felt so warm and inviting and I just couldn't help myself.

I took his hand in mine and leaned against his shoulder. We intertwined our fingers and he kissed my head and whispered to me "I want this to be something." I thought back to last night and what Saracen said about not leading him on. I had to decide now if I wanted this to be something or else end it. But I liked being in his company; he was fun and energetic, he makes me happy, but do I want a relationship with him? Well my body certainly did, considering that I nearly jumped him when he kissed me. I liked him, and I don't think that being just friends would work out. Well then, a relationship it is.

"I want this to work too." I said and looked up at him. I kissed him lightly on the lips and moved back again, to see that he had his eyes closed and his face was surprised and clearly happy about the kiss. He opened his eyes to find that I was looking at him. My hair was starting to fall out and he reached up to move it out of my face. I grabbed his hand and pressed it to the side of my face wanting to feel his touch on my skin.

I sighed as I looked at the watch on his wrist and it was already three o'clock. I had homework to do and I needed a good night sleep. "I have to go, I have an essay to write and then I need to get some more sleep." He smiled and stood up, taking me with him. "What is your essay about?" He asked and I thought back to class on Thursday when it was assigned. That was ironic, it was about him. I blushed as I said "You." He laughed, pulling me into a hug and I could feel the vibrations on his chest. I wrapped my arms around his waist and pulled him closer to me, not wanting this moment to end.

We stood there like that for a few more seconds before he pulled away and went to get his car keys. 'So, call me if you need any help with your essay.' He said in an amused voice, as he opened the door for me, leading me out to his car to drive me home.


	4. Secrets

Secrets

When I got home and went straight to bed. I woke up to find that I had slept right through to Monday morning. I woke up at seven am and had to leave early for classes and I had never gotten around to writing the essay about Dexter even though thoughts of him floated around in my head all day, I could hardly write down any of them. Not unless my lecturer wanted to read about how nice his abs were and how good of a kisser he was.

I wrote the damn essay at the library in between my lecture and only just met the required word confines when it was finally time for class. Ben was there and he was teasing me to no end about meeting Dexter on Tuesday. Luckily I hadn't told him about the date or he would have never left me alone. I smiled to myself as I thought about the time he said that he only teased me because he liked me. He was actually nice to people he hated because it freaked them out. If he was ever truly nice to me it was either to make me stop crying or because he was really mad at me.

I laughed at the thought as I took my seat next to him. The rest of the day moved on slowly and so did much of the week. When I got home at about three o'clock on Friday after noon, my plans were to go to bed and sleep until Monday but I remembered something. Tanith had organised a dinner party for tonight. As I entered the house I heard swearing from the kitchen and so I walked in that direction.

I saw that Tanith was busy in the kitchen and she was actually cooking. I walked in and leaned on the door frame leading into said kitchen and watched as she rushed around the room. It was funny to see, as she never really cooks anything. Ghastly always did that and on the occasion me, but never Tan. She looked stressed and her blond curly hair was all frizzy and she was frowning at a bowl of what looked like brown goo, but I think it was supposed to be chocolate sauce. "Do you need some help?" I asked and she nearly jumped out of her shoes as she turned around to see me in the door way trying not to laugh at her. "I told Ghastly that I could do this myself and I tried. I really tried but I really suck at cooking. Please save me."

So I spent the rest of the afternoon helping Tanith cook the food for tonight's dinner. We made a salad for the entre and roast chicken for the main course. The desert was chocolate pudding with caramel sauce as it turned out, not that you could tell from the monstrosity that I threw out earlier. When we finally got everything organised and basically ready for the night it was almost seven, which is the time Tanith said everyone was getting here and that reminded me that I never asked who was coming. "Tan, who did you invite?" I asked and she listed off a bunch of people. "Me and Ghastly of course, you, Skulduggery, Valkyrie, Saracen, Dexter and oh, who else was there…" she trailed off trying to think of the last name, but I wasn't paying attention any more. Dexter was going to be here and I hadn't told him that I was living with Tanith and Ghastly, that I was that girl.

I ran upstairs and got changed quickly into a short, mid-thigh dress that had a dark floral pattern on it and then started to look for my phone. I dialed Dexter's number and he answered right away. "Can you please tell me why the directions that Tanith gave me to get to her house for a dinner party tonight led to your house?" he asked, slightly panicked and a little annoyed. Well the cats out of the bag now, I may as well be blunt. 'Remember how Tanith took in Marcus and Jane Grace's Kid? Well I'm that kid, but I'm not a kid anymore. I'm sorry, but it never came up the other day. Please forgive me?" I said and let out a huge lung full of air that I didn't know I was holding.

There was silence on the end of the line as he contemplated what I had just said. "You should have told me. What do we do, just pretend we don't know each other? Or we could make up something about how we met?" He asked, not knowing what to do. Ok let me think, we could tell them the truth but just not about the whole dating thing. "We'll just say we bumped into each other at a café and talked a bit but nothing more, okay? Easy as that. Oh, wait, Saracen is coming too. Can you call him and tell him?" He grunted in agreement and I hung up.

I went to do my makeup and hair. I decided to curl my hair and let it sit around my shoulders. With my makeup I did light smoky grey eye shadow and dark eyeliner, with blusher that accented my nice cheek bones making them look sharper than they were. I decided against lipstick and instead went for a lip gloss that made me lips look as if they were wet and it was a natural pink brown colour that went well with my skin tone. I looked in the mirror and was happy with the result so I put on my stockings, flats and a black jacket and went down stairs.

I arrived just in time to see Valkyrie and Skulduggery arrive in the Bentley followed by Dexter, and then Saracen. Val and Skull reached the door first and I saw what they were wearing. Skulduggery was wearing his usual pin striped three piece suit and hat, but Valkyrie was an entirely different story. She had on a really deep blue blouse that had a deep neck line that showed off her cleavage and tight black leather pants that made her butt look amazing. Her heals were at least four inched high and she towered over me as she walked by and into the lounge to great Tanith. She smiled at me as she passed and waved a friendly wave. She was a nice person, but sometimes she was too much like one of the guys to ever have a good friendship with like she had with Tanith but I didn't mind.

Next came Skulduggery who walked passed with a tilt to his head that made him look happy. "Hello Legacy, how are you tonight?" He asked with his smooth velvety voice. "Good thanks Skulduggery. And you?" I kept up the polite conversation until he too made his way into the living room. Then came Saracen who looked entirely too amused for me to talk to in a polite way. He was wearing a black suit and tie with a white shirt, that reminded me of Dexter's on the night of the ball and I blushed. I moved my head so that my hair so that he couldn't see but I suspected that he guessed.

"Hello again Legacy, you look lovely tonight." He said with a smirk. I moved down the rest of the stairs to hit him in the shoulder. "Why did you do that?" He said in mock hurt and I smiled sweetly at him. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Go into the lounge room." I pushed him in the direction of the others and he laughed as I did so but obliged anyway. I waited until Dexter reached the door step and I walked out onto the porch and pulled the door around but didn't close it completely to avoid the noise attracting attention.

I looked at him to see that he was wearing white shirt that was tucked into black dress pants and he had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He looked incredibly handsome and I stepped closer to him. I could see his eyes travel over my body, up and down again, pausing slightly on my breasts, as they were pushed up by my bra. He walked forward and kissed me roughly, pushing me back until I was leaning on the wall just beside the door on the side that wasn't the window leading into the lounge room. My hands wrapped around his waist and pulled him closer to me. He broke off the kiss and stood there for a second, both of us breathing hard, trying to catch our breath. "You look beautiful." He said in a slightly deep and out of breath voice that made my skin tingle. "So do you." I said and hugged him around the waist. His arms went around my shoulders.

I heard someone walk over to the door and poke there head out. 'I was sent out to look for Dexter." We jumped and sprung apart only to find it was Saracen looking at the two of us with a bemused expression. I was tempted to slap it off of his face but Dexter stopped me by pulling me close for another kiss. I was totally taken by surprise and melted into it only to find that he pulled away all too quickly. "You go in first, Saracen and I will stay out here for a minute and have a little chat." He said and pushed me slightly in the direction of the door, Saracen stepping out onto the deck and out of my way.

"You might want to freshen up before you go in to meet everyone." He said in my ear as I passed him. I blushed and went into the downstairs bathroom and looked in the mirror. My lip gloss was smudged a bit over the bottom half of my face. I grabbed a face cloth and put some hot water on it and started to clean away the mess. I didn't reapply my lip gloss just in case Dexter surprised me again with another kiss. I walked slowly into the lounge room to find that Saracen and Dexter had already entered and were sitting next to Skulduggery on the couch, with Ghastly on the armchair, both of the other women absent from the room. They were talking about the sanctuary and Ghastly's job as one of the elders.

I didn't really care much about sanctuary business so I made my way into the kitchen to see that Valkyrie and Tan were having a glass of wine each and had poured me one too. They looked up as I entered the room, stopping there conversation to greet me. I sat down on the only empty bar stool and took the glass of wine and downed it in one go. 'Hi." The said in unison with identical expressions of surprise and amusement on their faces. 'Are you ok?" Valkyrie asked and I looked up at her from the empty glass in front of me. Her face was striking and beautiful, almost as beautiful as China's but in a different way. China's was artificial but Valkyrie's was natural.

'Not really." I said and she looked at me with sympathy in her eyes. But before she could say anything else the timer on the stove went off and Tanith jumped up to get the chicken out of the oven. She had decided that she wasn't going to do courses and would just put everything on the table and let them eat away, not that Skulduggery could, but nobody really cared about that. I helped take plates and cutlery into the dining room and set the table. Dexter came out of the lounge room, saw me and came to help. I didn't look up at him, because it I did I knew I would want to kiss him again. He didn't try and talk to me which told me he probably felt the same way. Everyone else came into the room; Tanith and Valkyrie with the food and we all sat down. I ended up sitting in between Saracen and Dexter which really got on my nerves a bit because Saracen kept on looking at me and winking, laughter in his eyes.

As the dinner wore on conversation got onto the topic of me. Great. Skulduggery started it and I swore if he ever grew organs spontaneously, I would stab him in eye. "So, have you met Dexter yet?" he asked and I looked up from my food. I had kept quiet throughout most of the conversation over the course of the dinner, only answering with one syllable replies if people asked me anything and soon, everyone pretty much ignored me.

But now everyone was silent for some reason and really interested in my answer. "We met last Tuesday actually, at a café in Roarhaven. We talked a bit I guess." I said looking over at him to see him shrug as Valkyrie raised an eyebrow at him. The conversation ended there when Tanith abruptly stood and said "Fuck." And ran into the kitchen. Everyone laughed at her expletive and started to clean up our finished dinner items. I took all the plates and cutlery back into the kitchen and put them next to the sink. I would wash them up later, when everyone was talking and socialising.

I took bowls back into the dining room along with the spoons as Tanith followed me with the pudding and sauce. It looked a bit black on the top but nobody commented. She served it up and everyone tool a serving. Dexter handed me mine and as he did our hands touched briefly. He smiled at me when they did and I smiled back and took the bowl from him. I ate in silence again, not wanting to talk with anyone.

Dexter's leg bumped mine occasionally and I looked over at him to see that he was in a conversation with Ghastly about something. His hand went under the table and opened up as if inviting mine into his. I placed it into his and he smiled. The table was relatively small and so we were all squished up. Nobody noticed that we held hands under the table because our shoulders were almost touching anyway. Our hands hung in between our chairs and his thumb traced patterned on my hand, making me shiver.

As everyone finished up their desert Tanith called not doing the washing up and so did everybody else but me and Dexter. They all looked at us and said "You guys are on washing up duty." We let go of each other's hands as we stood up and made our way to the kitchen as everyone else made their way back to the lounge room to open another bottle or two of some kind of alcohol. As soon as we got into the kitchen Dexter shut the door and leaned against the kitchen bench like he had done the morning after the ball. I leaned against the door and watched him. He was thinking about something and then his face turned from one of deliberation to a smile.

He walked over to me and took me into his arms. I looked at him in shock. Anyone could walk in the door at any moment and he was going to kiss me. "They are hardly going to come in here when they think we're doing the washing up. They know me and I would try to get them to help me so I would have less work to do." I smiled up at him and kissed his cheek. He did the same to me, pressing my body up against the door, and leaning away a bit to continue the trail down my neck. He kissed my neck and I moaned his name, obviously getting turned on.

He silenced me with his lips as he came back up to my face. He moved his hands to where mine were on the door and took them in his. Intertwining them the same as when we were holding hands under the table a few minutes ago. He raised them above my head and pressed them against the door. I moved my body forwards, wanting it to be closer to him. But he broke away, leaving me breathless and railed up, wanting more. He looked the same but I saw the logic in his decision to stop. We didn't want to be seen having sex in the kitchen because that would be a bad way to tell people we were seeing each other. "To be continued." I said as I made my way over to the sink and started doing the washing up. He looked at me with a smile and helped me.

We got it done in about an hour and then made our way into the lounge room to see that everyone was really drunk apart from Skulduggery because he couldn't drink anything. He smiled at us as we entered the room. Tanith and Ghastly were sitting on the arm chair, Tanith in Ghastly's lap, kissing. I was used to it by now but Dexter cringed at the sight of his friends making out. I laughed at the face he was making and he moved on to see Saracen sitting on the floor by himself drinking from the bottle looking like he was about to fall asleep and then Valkyrie laying in the door way laughing at nothing.

I burst out laughing at this as they were meant to adults and they were so immature. Skulduggery stood up and made his way over to his friend and picked him up and chucked him over his shoulder. "I'll take Saracen home. Can Valkyrie stay the night in your spare bedroom?" He asked in an amused voice, the question was directed at Tanith and Ghastly but they were so absorbed in each other that he turned his head to me. I nodded and went to get Valkyrie out of the way of the door so that Skulduggery could leave.

"Oh, and next time you two decide to make out in the kitchen, do it quietly, I heard you." He said and then left. I looked at his back in shock as he left but then remembered he told me one time that his senses were acute only because he was magically enhanced in that respect. I sighed relief when I realised that meant that nobody else heard. Dexter came over to me and picked up Valkyrie. "Which way is your spare room?" He asked and I walked in the direction, him following me. I heard Ghastly get up and carry Tanith into their room on the first floor. I walked up the stairs quickly and then moved aside as I pointed to the room that was empty. Dexter went in with Valkyrie and returned without her moments later.

We stood awkwardly in the hall way, not knowing what to do now. He was standing awfully close to me and I was still hot and bothered by his kiss earlier. "Do you want to see the rest of the house?" I asked and he nodded seeing in my eyes that that meant seeing my bedroom and in turn my bed.


	5. Anticipation

Anticipation

We walked slowly in the direction of my bedroom, not touching or looking at each other. We both knew what was going to happen and were anxious and excited all at once. The hallway leading up to my room was long and narrow, with light green painted walls. There were various doors that lead to other rooms of the house, but my bedroom was at the very end, staring us in the face the whole way. Even though I was meant to be giving him a tour of the house, he never opened any doors and neither did I. It felt like forever until we got to the door. It was painted black, from when I went through my gothic/angst faze a couple of months ago. I shall not go into detail as it wasn't pretty.

We stopped and just stood there, neither one of us wanting to be the one to open the door. I fiddled with the hem of my flowery dress and stood a bit straighter when I realised Dexter was looking at me. He was tall and muscular, taking up most of the space in the hallway, so I was standing right up against the wall. He looked into my eyes and I noticed that his were a deep shade of blue that was almost hypnotising unlike mine which were pale blue and boring. I leaned forward a bit unconsciously and when he cleared his throat I blushed and fell back against the wall. His face was round and welcoming and his hair was blonde and neat.

I did something bold at that moment, I stood up straight and that meant that our bodies were so close together, and I reached around him, all the while keeping eye contact, to open the door. He smiled at me, liking the take charge attitude. I wondered what he was thinking at that moment, little did I know that later I would find out. My door opened and we walked in, my room coming into full view. I had a built in wardrobe that was at the right of the door along the wall and then to the left was my desk and book shelf, which was in a total mess, books lying everywhere. In the middle of the room was my queen sized bed, which was next to the window with the curtains shut.

I switched the light on and the room filled with artificial light. I looked at the ground of my room only to find that my bra and underwear where lying there out in plain sight. I blushed and ran forward to move them under the bed and out of view, only to find that Dexter had already moved forward and was now sitting on the edge of my bed, laughing at me, as he picked up said bra, raising his eyebrows suggestively. His laugh was big and booming, filling up the room with the deep sound of his voice. I blushed again and shushed him, not wanting anyone to near us.

I leaned back against my wardrobe, directly in front of Dex. Although a good meter of distance was in between us, my room was small so it felt crowded. Dex didn't look like he minded though, he was always cocky like that, and it was one of the things I liked about him. He managed to do it in a way that didn't make him look like an asshole though, which was a plus.

We stood like that for a while, just looking at each other, the bra forgotten about, and strewn across the back of the desk chair (Dex had thrown it aside). The sexual tension was building between us as we kept on staring at each other; maybe he was thinking I was going to make the first move? Should I? But then he stood up and stepped forward, making us incredibly close but not touching. God, I wanted to touch him, but I didn't.

He was leaning in towards me, making me wait and I liked the tingly feeling of anticipation. He moved slowly, raising his arms up going to touch my face but at the last second he changed his mind and put his hand up against the wardrobe to steady him as he leaned even closer. I could almost feel his lips on mine, but they weren't moving. Instead I got his sweet breath that made me tingle all over. I almost could not take it.

But then he put his other hand on my waist, and it felt like being touched by magic. His fingers splayed out and moved from my hip around to my back. I couldn't wait any longer, the tension was too much to take and so I leaned into him, pressing my body against his. We were touching at every point, thigh to thigh, hips to hips, stomach to stomach, chest to chest, lips to lips. We kissed at last and I was so caught up in the moment.

His lips moved against mine in a hungry, lustful manner as his hands traveled around my body. At first they just moved around my waist, but he became more and more confident. His hand travelled slowly down over my hip and thigh, making me shiver. It reached the end of my dress (which came down to my mid-thigh) and fiddled with the hem of it as I had done nervously earlier. He stopped kissing me then and I opened my eyes wondering why he had. I missed the feeling of his lips already. He grinned cheekily and kissed me once more chastely before continuing a trail of kisses along my jaw. I leaned forward to get closer to him, his hands and his lips. The trail didn't stop though and he went down my neck and across my chest.


	6. Virgin Woes

Virgin woes

When he went to kneel in front of me to reach better, I finally got an idea of what he was doing, going all the way down. But the feel of his lips on my skin was too good, so I moved my hands from their place on the wardrobe each side of me, and placed them on his neck, guiding him back up for a little while. He protested, and stood up, grabbing my hands and pulling them above my head, locking them there with one of his strong hands. "No." He said in a deep husk voice that told me that he was deeply turned on. I nodded and he knelt down once again to continue kissing his way down my body. He got to my core and I shivered as he kissed me there spending a little bit too long teasing me.

He then pushed up my dress and kissed up my stocking covered legs, until he got to the top. When he did, he paused, looking up at me with want in his eyes, but I could tell he was going to drag this out as long as possible. He grabbed the top of my stockings and pulled them down slowly, watching as my skin was bared to him. He lifted up my feet one by one until I was stocking-less. He then ran his course hands over my thighs as he stood up again, moving them up and down.

"Now you." I said wanting us to be equal. I had an item of clothing on the ground and so should he. I moved my hands to the bottom of his button down white shirt that was tucked into his pants. I pulled it up and over his head and raised arms, throwing it to the ground with my stockings. Then my eyes found his chest and his abs smiled back at me. He was tan and amazing. I reached my hands out and ran them over his stomach and up to his shoulders, liking the feel of his bare chest against my hands. I moved forward and pressed my to lips to his shoulder, and then decided that I would do to him, what he did to me.

I made a trail of kisses down to his belly button and then the edge of his pants as I knelt down in front of him. I undid the button of his trousers and pulled the zip down slowly, a smile playing at my lips as I saw that he was a boxer's man. His trousers fell to the floor and my hands grazed over his legs as I stood, all the while kissing his body. I was facing him again and he kissed me hard on the lips, near naked.

My hands circled around his neck and went up to tangle themselves in his hair as I got distracted by his lips. His hands, however, had other ideas. They ran over my shoulders, down my abdomen, pausing slightly as they ran past the side of my breasts, past my stomach and down to my thighs, again. He pulled up my dress and stepped back a bit, breaking the kiss, to take my dress off over my head. When it was off he chucked it aside and sat back down on the edge of my bed to look at me.

I was wearing a black lacy bra and matching underwear. The bra really pushed up my breasts, making them look perkier than they were but Dex looked as if he liked it. My arms wrapped around my mid-section self-consciously and I looked at my feet, as I was a little embarrassed. I had never had the perfect body, I knew that. Some would say that I was fat others that I just needed to exercise more but really it was an addiction to chocolate. My stomach was big and hung out a little bit and my thighs were big too.

When I looked up again at Dex I wondered why someone as beautiful as him would want this with someone like me. But then I realised he was smiling at me, and then I looked a little south of his face and found that he was er... really happy. He wasn't before, when we were teasing each other, but now… Was he turned on by me? He leaned forward and grabbed my hands, pulling me forward so that I was in between his legs.

His hands went to my back and I jumped a bit at the sudden feel of him pressing against my legs. His hands went up my back, pushing me harder into him and he came to a halt at my bra. He undid the clasp and pulled the straps over my shoulders and down my arms, and threw it away. I was now out in the open and the cool air of the room made me shiver. Dex seemed to like that and all of his attention was now focused on my chest. My breasts weren't that big even though the rest of me was, but they were big enough.

He looked up at me as if asking for approval, for what I didn't know, but I nodded and he looked down again, moving his lips towards me. My hands slid into his hair once again, to steady myself as he took me into his mouth, his hands around my waist hugging me to him as his lips kissing my chest. My knees were getting weak as the pleasure built up so I raised my legs one by one, over his and sat in his lap, never once breaking his contact with me.

We continued on like this for a while, giving and taking and finally we fell back against my bed and shuffled awkwardly up a bit so that our legs weren't hanging over the edge. He moved us so that I now lying below him and he lay on top of me. He went to take off my under wear, sitting up slightly and I shivered as his hands grazed over me. He came back up so that we were face to face and both of us now naked and pressed together. He reached over to my bed side table and opened the first draw, grabbing out protection and putting it on. I laid there and didn't know what to do with myself. He seemed to understand this and kissed me hard on the mouth then whispered "We'll go slowly." and then we moved together.

It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would and was actually kind of pleasurable. Dexter was gentle as promised but I could tell he was restraining himself a lot for my sake; he certainly knew what he was doing though. I don't think that, if I had been with someone else, it would have been that good.

Afterwards he laid beside me spread out, legs open, and I did the same. "Thank you." He said in a voice that sounded more like the normal, not turned on, Dexter Vex. "You're welcome." I said back, kind of amused at my own response. Dex smirked and looked over at me, and I wondered what he was thinking. "Well, you don't have your virginity anymore, now do you feel?" He asked and I smiled at him, considering what to say back. I didn't really feel very different though. I felt happy and tired but that was about it really.

I moved over onto my side and curled up to Dexter's side. He moved his arm so that I could lay my head on it and his hands started to make circles on my back. "I don't know," I said in response to his question, "How do you feel, being the one who took it?" I asked and the look on his face went from playful to that of guilty. "I didn't take it, Legacy, you wanted to, didn't you?" There was a look of uncertainty in his eyes and I rushed to fix my mistake. "Dexter, I don't regret this." I hugged his side and kissed his shoulder, wanting to comfort him in his sorrow.

I continued, "Dexter, do you know how many nights I spend awake in bed, trying to masturbate but getting nowhere and ending up horny with no outlet? Do you know how much I have wanted to…? And then when I met you I thought, 'he could give me an orgasm any time he wants,' and then you actually asked me out. Do you know how surprised I was that you did? I never thought anyone would ever find me interesting or attractive, but you did. You are the best thing that has happened to me in all my years on this earth and you should not apologise for wanting this, because I wanted it just as much as you did.

"I wouldn't have let you even take of my stockings if I didn't want you. You would have been punched, hard, if I didn't want you to do any of the things that you did to me today. And let me tell you, you will be doing it again and again." He looked up at me as I finished, with a look on his face that was basically expressionless. Then he did something that surprised me. He sat up and pulled me with him. He adjusted us so that he was resting on the head board of my bed and I was in between his legs, leaning on his chest. His arms wrapped around my waist and we sat in comfortable silence for a while before drifting into a comfortable sleep.


	7. Awkward

Awkward

We woke up to the sound of people yelling out, saying that they were starting breakfast. I opened my eyes warily and looked around to see that I was curled up in Dexter's arms. We had shifted during the night so that we were in a spooning position, him pressed up against my back. I smiled to myself, liking the feel of our skin touching at all points. I turned around in his arms and found him to still be asleep. He was really cute when he was asleep and found that I couldn't bring myself to wake him suddenly.

I moved my hand up to his face and placed my finger at the bridge of his nose, moving it down, stroking it. He opened his eyes slowly and smiled when he saw me in front of him. "Good morning." I said in my pre-coffee voice which was considerable deeper and more croaky than my normal voice. He hugged me closer to him and our bodies moved closer instinctively as well. I liked being wrapped up in his arms, it made me feel safe.

I moved backwards a bit and kissed him on the cheek. "Good morning." He replied and then realisation washed over his features as he saw that it was in fact morning. I looked up and saw his expression which in turn caused me see the situation we had gotten ourselves into. He couldn't sneak out because whoever was up would have seen his car and known that he had stayed like Valkyrie had, but how were we going to explain him in my bed room? Maybe I could just stay in here with him until everybody left? Nope, it wouldn't work. Ghastly would come looking for me eventually.

I separated myself from Dexter and sat up in bed think about how we were going to get away with this. There was a shop down the street that sold coffee. I could send him out the window to get some and he could just say he left before anyone got up, as he wanted to go for a walk. But we already had coffee down stairs, damn. He followed me up and kissed my shoulder before getting out of bed and began gathering his clothes. "How are we going to explain this to everyone down stairs?" He asked in a calm and collected manner and I inwardly thanked him for being like that. If he wasn't I'm sure I would have started to panic.

I too got up and went to my wardrobe and got out some fresh clothing, not really looking at what I grabbed. I pulled them on, not worrying about a bra, because it was too early in the morning for such monstrosities. "What about I just leave out the window?" he asked and I shook my head. "Your car is out the front and they would have seen it by now." Damn this was annoying. What were we going to do? "I could sneak into my car and just say I slept in it?"  
>"Not going to work. Why would you sleep out in your car when there is a perfectly good couch inside that had a blanket thrown over the back of it? I'm pretty sure they know you're smarter than that." I paused and sat back down on the bed, totally out of ideas and so was he.<p>

He sat down next to me and took my hand in his. "I could sneak into the bathroom and have a shower then it would look like I had slept in the lounge room and had put everything back to normal before going to the bathroom." Well, that was the best idea we had come up with so far so it would have to do. I nodded and leaned against his shoulder, not wanting him to leave my side. We sat there for a little while before he stood up and walked over to the door. I stood too and walked over to him, reaching up on my toes and kissed him lightly and quickly on the lips. He kissed me back and then winked at me as he went to open the door. He ran out and down the stairs and I heard a door shut which I assumed was him going into the bathroom. He wasn't caught, that was good.

I went to my mirror in my room and looked at myself. I was glowing and a happy smile was permanently plastered to my face. I tried to get rid of it, as I usually wasn't this cheerful in the morning but I couldn't help it. I saw that I had put on baggy boyfriend jeans and a blue patterned silky top that felt really nice against my skin. I realised that other people were here still so I grudgingly put on a bra, but one that was comfortable.

I opened the door of my room and stepped out into the hallway. I saw Valkyrie walking down the stairs and towards Tanith's room, probably to borrow some clothing as she was still in hers from last night. I stifled a laugh as I too followed her down the stairs, her face was hilariously angry. I would be too if I had a hangover like hers. It had to be terrible, but that just reminded me of how she was in hysterics last night over nothing and it made me laugh even harder, so much so that I had to sit down on the stairs to stop from falling over. I heard the bathroom door open and saw Dexter walk out with no clothes on and a towel wrapped low around his waist. He walked past me and winked as he went into the kitchen. I heard him say something to Ghastly and then they both walked out of the kitchen and towards Ghastly and Tanith's room.

Just as they were about to open the door I remembered that Valkyrie went in there a minute ago. I got up and went over to catch them before they went in. I grabbed Ghastly's arm and he turned around, smiling. "Good morning Legacy." He said and then went to open the door. "Valkyrie's in there getting changed into some of Tanith's clothing. Wait till she comes out?" I asked and he looked a little horrified at the thought of walking in on Val while she was getting changed. Dex and I both looked at his face and burst out laughing. We couldn't help it, he was just so embarrassed by the thought that he turned bright red.

Valkyrie heard the noise and opened the door to find tomato resembling Ghastly and Dex and I leaning on the wall trying to stop ourselves from laughing to death. I looked up, gasping for breath after I finally managing to stop laughing to see that Valkyrie was wearing one of Ghastly's tops as a dress of sorts and a pair of leggings from Tanith. She made it look really sexy. Both Ghastly and Dexter froze as they saw her, completely in awe of her good looks. I nudged Dex in the side and he shook his head and looked over at me in a daze. He had a lopsided grin and shrugged his shoulders as if to say "I am a man, what do you expect?"

I shook my head at him; I couldn't really blame him though, she looked stunning, even I had to admit it. Ghastly and Dexter went into the room and Valkyrie and I walked slowly together in the direction of the Kitchen. She took one look at the smile on my face and said "You look altogether much too happy for someone who just woke. You haven't even had coffee yet. Please tell me, what is your secret?" She asked and I laughed along with her. Sex was my secret I guess but I couldn't really say that to her. I winked at her and skipped ahead and into the kitchen where Tanith was watching the bacon while Ghastly was getting Dex some clothes. She wasn't really doing a very good job though as she was just sitting at one of the bar stools and drinking coffee, staring at the frying pan over the top of her mug.

I went over to check on the food to find it was ready to be flipped and did so. I then got out some mugs from the cupboard and placed them on the counter and poured coffee into each. I handed one to Valkyrie and then one to Dexter as he walked into the room. I saw that Ghastly already had one sitting on the bench so I left that alone. I got some sugar and put in four teaspoons and stirred it. I then took a sip and found it to be delicious. I had my coffee black with as much sugar to make it taste less bitter. I looked up to see that everyone but Ghastly was staring at me.

'What?" I asked and they all laughed. I frowned and looked to Tanith for an explanation. "I never got why you have your coffee like that. It's weird." I shook my head at her and took another sip of the coffee and made my way around to sit down next to her. Dexter was standing on the opposite side of the counter, helping Ghastly with the cooking. It reminded me of the night after our first date, with him standing half naked at the stove cooking me food and I blushed as I remembered that, in that moment, I had wanted to kiss him. Well I had done more than that now.

I smiled over my coffee and took a big gulp, to disguise it. Tanith and Valkyrie were talking about something unimportant and then there was a knock on the door. Tan looked up and me and I nodded, getting up to go and answer it, coffee still in hand. I opened the door to find a skeleton staring back at me. I smiled. "Good morning Skulduggery, have you come to check on Valkyrie?" I said and he laughed. I moved aside and he walked in turning back around to face me as I shut the door. "I see that Dexter is still here. Did you enjoy your night Legacy?" he asked and I blushed. If he had a face his eyebrows would be raised right now and his lips curled into a smirk. "Touché." I said and he tilted his head in confusion.

"It's pretty obvious that you like Valkyrie romantically." I stated, finding it funny that I had to explain this to him. He stood up straight and leaned back a bit, which told me that he was surprised but not shocked. So I was right. I loved being right. I smiled and walked past him back into the kitchen, Skulduggery following me. He paused at the door way when he spotted Valkyrie and because I was standing behind her, I raised my eyebrows and he looked over at me, shaking his head in amusement at me and himself. Valkyrie turned around and greeted him. "Hey Skull, what's happening?" She asked, not knowing why he was here as well as I did. I smirked and looked away leaving them to their denial.

After we all had breakfast Skull and Val left in the Bentley, claiming that they had some things to look up for a case and that they would be at the sanctuary. That just left Ghastly, Tanith, Dexter and I. We all made our way into the living room, and I went to sit on the couch. Dex cleared his throat and Ghastly was torn away from his thoughts and went over to talk to his friend and open a beer each. It was a little bit early in the morning (about ten thirty) to be drinking bear but no one called them up on it. After a few minutes, Ghastly came over and sat on an armchair, and Dex sat next to me on the couch, Tanith being already on my left, the only other seat was the one in which Dex sat. I blushed as I was stuck in the middle of these two people one of which I had just had sex with only last night.

Tanith noticed my blush and gave me a shove with her elbow that made me bump Dex, who in turn spilt a bit of bear on his shirt. "Sorry." I mumbled. Dex looked amused and Tanith looked curious, obviously sensing something was going on but Ghastly was oblivious. He shook his head and said "Give me your shirt Dex; I'll go put it in the wash." Dex stood up and stripped off his shirt, but he did it slowly, as if he was teasing me, the bastard. I will get him back for this later. I noticed that he had a huge scratch mark on his back and blushed as I realised that I probably did that to him without realising.

Ghastly noticed this too and I really wished he would've ignored it but he didn't. "Dexter, you do know that you have a really big scratch on your back, right?" He said, and the look on his face said that he was about to start teasing his friend about it. "Ah. No I didn't notice, I wonder how that got there…" He sounded amused by the information. "Was it that lass you've been seeing? Finally get her into bed?" I blushed again and this time so did Dex. I cannot believe that Ghastly said that, even if he didn't know it was about me.

"I guess it could have been, I don't know. I did encounter a rather vicious black cat a week ago that didn't take a shine to me, it might have been that." Ghastly laughed and went to the laundry to put Dexter's shirt in the wash and Tanith chose that moment to go and get another coffee and so we were left alone. Dex sat back down on the couch next to me and I punched him in the arm. "What was that for?" he asked innocently. "I don't know, for not leaving and making things awkward, for taking off your shirt slowly." He kissed me then and it totally caught me by surprise and kind of turned me on because of the danger factor i.e. that we could get caught.

I pulled away and took a shaky breath, trying to compose myself for when the others came back in the room. Then I remembered about the scratch I gave him. "Sit forward would you?" I asked and he did as I said. I looked at his muscular and tanned back and the long scratch that ran down one side. I lightly traced over it with my fingers and heard Dex hiss in pain. I kissed his back and then pushed him back so that he was sitting normally again. "I'm sorry, I didn't know—"He shushed me and looked into my eyes, brushing away my brown hair from in my face that was still curly from last night.

"I like having battle scares; they remind me of the good times. And that was certainly good, especially since it was your first." He said and I smiled, leaning into his hand that was still on the side of my face. We heard Ghastly coming back into the room and pulled apart quickly and sat back on the couch normally. Ghastly handed Dexter another shirt and he stood up and put it on. "I think I had better get going, I have a lot to do today." He said and Ghastly agreed. I stood up and walked him to the door as Ghastly went back into the kitchen to find Tanith.

We walked slowly, and I grabbed his hand in mine. I brought it up to my lips and kissed it gently, then looked up at him. "I had fun last night." I said and he nodded in agreement. 'Me too." He said and blushed a little at the memory. For a guy who was more than three hundred years old, you would think he would be more confident about these things but he still blushed at the thought. It was kind of cute. I smiled at that and then he kissed me. It was brief and chaste but perfect none the less. I stepped closer to him as he pulled away. I didn't really want him to leave, but knew that, since we had told nobody we were dating, we couldn't really be with each other without an excuse.

"When will I see you next?" I asked and he thought about it. "Um… I don't know, but I'll call you later okay?" He said and I smiled, liking the thought. I hugged him quickly and then he left out the door. I watched him walk away and noticed he had a kind of rhythm to the way that he walked. It seemed to bring out more of his personality into his presence. I wondered how I hadn't noticed this before but realised that I had never really just watched him like I was now. He absentmindedly ran his hand through his hair as he got to his car. He opened the door and then looked back at me watching him. I blushed and he winked at me before getting into his car and driving away.


	8. Telling Tanith and Ghastly

Telling Tanith and Ghastly

A week later I went to my normal training session with Tanith and all I could think about was Dex and him touching me. Tanith picked up on my distracted mood and worked me extra hard because of it. I hadn't seen him since Saturday last week and it was Friday already. That was thirteen days ago. Sure we had talked on the phone a few times. But it wasn't the same as being next to each other.

When we were practicing swords I didn't win once, not that I do very often but sometimes I do, and when we were doing hand to hand combat, I got thrown on my ass so many times and Tanith finally called me out on it. "Grace, what is with you today, it's like you're not even here." She said with a smirk on her face. "I'm just not into it to day Tan. I'm sorry. Can we finish up?" I asked and she nodded, going to pack up her things.

I did the same and then we went to have showers, cleaning ourselves up. As we walked towards the exit of the sanctuary Tanith stopped me and said "So you and Vex huh?" I nearly tripped over my feet as I turned to face her. 'How did you… I didn't…" I trailed of and she laughed at my face which was obviously contorted into an expression of horror and surprise. "Grace, come on. I saw you in the lounge room when Ghastly and I left on Saturday morning. I don't mind, I think it's cute, you two being together. I'm pretty sure you'll have a hell of a time telling Ghastly though. He feels responsible for you ever since… Well you know." I winced at being reminded of my parents; I try not to think about them and what Sanguine did to them.

Realisation washed over Tanith's face as she said "I'm sorry, Grace. I didn't mean to…"  
>"It's ok Tan, really. Thank you for being ok with it. He's just so… Oh I don't know… He's the best." I didn't want to say too much but Tanith always went big so her next question really shouldn't have shocked me, but it did. "I've always wondered how he was in bed, have you tested him out yet?" she asked, obviously curious. I shook my head and then she asked another question that I wasn't ready for.<p>

"Was he in your room on Friday night? Because he didn't drink that much so he could have driven home but he stayed and—" I interrupted her with a cough and then said "I don't really want to talk about this, ok?" and she smiled at me. I didn't really feel like discussing my sex life in the middle of the sanctuary. She winked at me and shouted "Just use those condoms I bought you ok?" as she walked away. I blushed as a few people looked at me sideways as I stood there in shock and embarrassment.

* * *

><p>Just as I was about to leave the sanctuary, I saw Dex stroll in with Valkyrie and Skulduggery. I wondered what Dex was doing with them though, was he helping them with a case or what? He looked over, saw me and smiled. He excused himself from the gang and made his way over to me. As he got to me, Valkyrie looked over, with a smirk on her face, god I hated that kind of a face. I had nothing against Valkyrie but sometimes she was just down right annoying.<p>

Dex hugged me and I hugged him back, but only briefly as we were in a public place and Ghastly could be around any corner. "What's up Dex?" I asked as he hooked his arm though mine and lead me down a corridor that I had never been down, and to a door that was locked. We stopped and he pulled a key out from his pocket, unlocked the door and pulled me inside. I barely had time to see the inside of the room before Dex had me pushed up against the door, our bodies pressed close together, his face so close to mine.

"I missed you," He said and then he kissed me and it was passionate and greedy and urgent. We broke apart and I looked at him in astonishment. "I missed you too. Where are we?" I asked as he let me go and I looked around the room. I saw a desk and computer, a picture frame that was empty and some chairs but nothing much else. The room was big, but not too big, and the walls were painted a creamy white colour. "This is my office. China assigned it to me after the whole Darquesse thing, so now I officially work for the Sanctuary doing detective things with Skull and Val."

I loved how everyone called Skulduggery Skull behind his back except Valkyrie she says it to his face, but he can't bring himself to call her out on it; it just amuses me, for some reason. "That's pretty cool. Good for you." I said, unsure of what else to say. I sat down in one of the chairs and looked up at Dex who was leaning on the desk, thinking about something.

"Is our relationship going anywhere?" He asked all of a sudden a few minutes later. That was random. "Of course it is Dex, why do you ask?" He smiled. "I was wondering then, if you would consider telling Ghastly and Tanith about us?"  
>"Do you want to get yourself killed?" I asked, suddenly annoyed. "Tanith already knows. She saw us in the lounge room the other day. But Ghastly thinks of me basically as his daughter, he would literally kill you for even thinking about me let alone taking my virginity as you so elegantly put it." Dex looked shocked at my outburst but thought about what I said before he continued. "I think it would be worth it. I think that you are worth it."<p>

Now it was my turn to be shocked. He really liked me, fat little old me. "Dex…why? Why do you like me?" I asked, not seeing anything in myself that he could possibly like, I was extremely confused as to the fact that he did. "I like your laugh, how uncontrollable it is. I like your smile, it makes me smile and I like how you walk, either with a hop or stomping, there's no in between. I like how you don't believe me when I tell you you're beautiful, because you start playing with your hair or looking down at your shoes awkwardly and I like how you bite your lip when you think.

"I like you because you're smart, funny, you blush easily and you collect books like their treasure. And I don't just like you; I think I'm starting to love you. After a certain age you start to think about what you consider beautiful. When I was young I went for the skinny girls with big breasts that put out but now I think about it differently. I think about what would suit me for a long term relationship and my perception of beauty has changed after recovering from being possessed by a remnant. I see it as having a beautiful soul and I think that you have that. "

I gawked at him, my mouth hanging open. I thought of all the girls and women that Dex had slept with before me and jealousy flashed over me briefly but I pushed it aside…Wait, did he say he loves me? Wow. Did I love him back? I think I'm starting to. He is my first everything, kiss, sexual partner and now lover. "I…Um..." I was speechless, which was odd, because usually I always have something to say. "You don't have to say anything Legacy, I know. I can tell by your face right now that you feel the same way."

I stood up on shaky legs and walked over to him slowly. I raised my hand to caress his face and run my thumb over his lips. "You are amazing." I said to him, my voice deep, cracked and shaken. I kissed him softly, passionately and he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close to him. We pulled away for a moment to look into each other's eyes. He pulled me close once again for a very long hug, my head buried in his chest and his in my hair.

There was a knock on the door that made us jump apart. "Dexter Vex, why is your door locked?" Asked the voice of Ghastly, and I looked at Dex with panic in my eyes. He grabbed my hand and kissed my forehead, which calmed me somewhat. "We should tell him." He said and I nodded in agreement not wanting to feel this panic of discovery again. I sat down in the chair that faced away from the door and Dex went to let Ghastly in. "Come in Ghastly, take a seat, there is something that we need to discuss." Dex said in a serious voice.

Ghastly walked into the room and when he saw me his face dropped from his smile into a confused expression. He turned to Dex, "Why was Legacy in here with you when the door was locked?" He asked innocently, hurt in his eyes as he realised what was going on. "Sit down Ghastly." Said Dex as he moved back to the desk and leant on it the same as before. "Ghastly, Dexter and I have been seeing each other." I said. Ghastly looked horrified, then angry. He stood up and walked over to Dex, grabbing him by his shirt collar. "She is just a little girl Vex. What is wrong with you?" He yelled furiously at him. Dex let him yell and shake him a bit before grabbing his arms softly and removing them from his collar.

"Let me explain Ghastly," I said as he sat back down in defeat, "When we first started dating, Dexter didn't know how old I was, he didn't know who I was, properly anyway. He didn't know about my parents or what Sanguine did to them. He thought that I was older than I am. He was innocent in all of this. I didn't tell him because I was surprised that he even showed any interest at all. I didn't know how to handle it at first but then, as we became more familiar with each other, I started to open up and really like him and so did he. It's not wrong if we're happy and that's what should matter. That we are happy. That I am really happy for the first time since…. Since my parents were murdered."

I had started crying by that point and Dex looked like he wanted to run over to me and scoop me up in his arms. He looked as if he wanted to protect me from every bad thing that had ever happened to me and I loved him a little more for that. Ghastly looked at me with an expression that looked guilty and sad. "I promised them that I would look after you. They were still alive when we found them Legacy. And they made me swear to look after you and protect you. I'm trying as hard as I can but you're growing up so fast and sometimes I just don't know what to do. I want to protect you because they asked me to."

He looked so sad, and in that moment I realised that when I lost my parents he also lost his friends. Jane and Marcus Grace were more than just parents and I had forgotten that in my grief. How could I be so insensitive? "Ghastly I am so sorry that I didn't see how you were struggling with this. Thank you. Thank you for putting up with me and taking care of me." I got up and hugged him and he hugged me back.

We both adjusted ourselves back into our seats as we looked up at Dex who looked kind of guilty. "Ghastly I'm sorry I hid this from you. But I will not apologise for loving our Legacy Grace. You have known me for a long time and let me tell you, I have never felt this way about anyone, ever. I will not hurt her and I will not do anything that she doesn't want me to do. I will take care of her. I want to protect her too." Ghastly sighed as Dexter finished his speech.

I looked at him, my tears dry now, with a warm smile. "I guess I approve then but I do not want to hear details, got it?" he smiled at his friend but then the smile disappeared as he remembered something. "That scratch on your back, is that from Legacy?" He asked, a little horrified at the thought of his, for all intense and purposes, daughter having sex with his friend. He shuddered and put his hands up to stop the words that were about to come out of Dexter's mouth and said "I don't want nor need to know."

At that moment Tanith came in the door, and we all turned around to see her. She grinned a very Tanith grin. "You're not dead yet Vex?" She asked and then laughed as she strolled forward to stand in front of him. "You will be if you ever hurt her, you got it?" And then she patted his head, turned on her heals and left the room, Ghastly following in suit. I stood up and went over to Dex as the door closed and said "At least you're not dead." He laughed pulling me into another big hug and kissed my neck.


	9. Dexter's house

Dexter's house

After the whole debacle with Ghastly and Tanith, Dex and I went back to his house, which was an apartment in Roarhaven. It was on the 10th floor of a 12 story building and was far enough from the sanctuary that you could feel like you weren't still at work. The last time I was here, I hadn't really been paying attention to the scenery so when we got inside, he gave me a tour. The front door opened into a big lounge room that had a black leather couch, and two matching recliner armchairs that were all facing the back wall where a big flat screen TV was.

There was a pool table behind the couch set and then to the left was a kitchen that had an island in the middle, in between was a hall way that Dex lead me down. The first door on the right was the bathroom and he had a spa and huge shower, next on the left was the laundry/toilet area. The next door was a spare room on the right and at the end of the hallway was Dex's room. I opened the door and walked in to find that he had a big room with a desk in the far right, a wardrobe in the near left hand corner, and a king sized bed in the far left hand corner of the room.

His walls were painted a deep red colour that made the room seem more like Dex, he always wore red shirts. Next to his desk, running down the length of the wall was a shelf stacked with books. I went over to it and saw a lot of the same kind of books that I read and some similar to the ones I had in my room. I hadn't even noticed his book shelf last time. I looked up at Dex in surprise. He had never said anything about liking to read in the couple of months that we had known each other. "You never said anything about liking to read Dex." I said in a fake annoyed voice and I pouted a bit for effect.

He laughed and came to wrap his arms around my waist from behind, as I was still looking at all of his books. On closer inspection, I realised that some of them were new and they were all the ones I had been telling him about on the occasions that he had called me. I turned in his arms and looked up at his face. His blue eyes were staring back at me and I forgot what I was going to say. "I…" I stuttered. He smirked at my speechlessness and said "Are my good looks too much for you? I will admit that they are distracting but there is no need to—"

I cut him off with a kiss to the cheek, that trailed down to his neck and he hugged me tighter to him, closing his eyes, enjoying my touch. "What were you saying Dex?" I said in between kisses, and he shivered around me. I pulled away from him and skipped away to the other side of the room, and looked at him as he opened his eyes to find that I wasn't standing near him. He growled and moved forward, trying to catch me, but I was too quick and I fled out the door, running up the hall and into the kitchen; Dex was close behind but not close enough to get me.

"Why are you running dear?" He asked, kind of annoyed but amused none the less. It was too funny not to laugh at his voice, and I slowed down as I did, which meant that Dex got closer. He was just behind me now and he grabbed my arms, spinning me around pulling them around his neck. He then lifted me up and sat me on the counter of the island in the kitchen. I ran my fingers through his hair and wrapped my legs around his waist, wanting his body on mine. He kissed me long and hard and I leaned into him and him to me. I moaned as he ran his hands down my back, shivering under his fingers.

My hands went down to his pants, undoing the buttons, letting them fall to his ankles. He pushed up my skirt and pulled down my underwear. I pushed his down next and he was ready to go. We were urgent in our touching and soon he was inside me. We moved together and it was pleasant but not orgasmic. I kissed him hard on the lips and he came suddenly with a growl. I felt the hot liquid inside of me and liked the sensation. We stayed like that for a while, my hands roaming around his shoulders and in his hair.

But then I realised that we hadn't used a condom. Oh shit. Dex hadn't caught onto my panic and looked at me strangely as I pushed him away and hopped of the counter. I pulled down my skirt, and pulled up my underwear that were around my ankles. I started pacing back and forth and he grabbed my arm, pulling me to face him, his pants still down around his ankles and erection still there. God, it took a lot of work to sate this man's sexual drive. "What's wrong? Legacy, tell me." I looked at him incredulously and then pulled my arm out of his grasp, continuing to pace.

"Let's go, I have to go to the Chemist." I said and I saw it register in his mind, his penis deflating and his face grew into an expression that I had never seen on him before. Anger. I stepped away from him a bit as he huffed, pulled his pants up and stomped away to his room. He came back moments later, opened the utensils draw and put five condoms inside. He turned back to me with an apologetic look and said "For next time." I smiled meekly and went to get my bag and jacket.

We walked in silence to the chemist which was, thankfully, not that far away from the apartment building. When we got there, Dex stood awkwardly behind me as I looked for a morning after pill. I found it and went up to the counter. I smiled at the thought of our little escapade just minutes before as we left and headed back to Dex's place.


	10. The Surge

The Surge

We settled on the couch and started watching a movie, but I wasn't really paying attention as I felt a strange tingling, slightly painful sensation in my head. It got progressively worse as the movie went on and finally I couldn't take it anymore. I got up and walked over to the sink to get a glass of water and then the pain burst out and through my body. I collapsed on the floor and hugged my knees to my chest as I heard Dexter get up and rush over from the couch to see what happened. "Legacy! Legacy, are you ok? Can you hear me?" But I was so focused on myself that his voice started to fade away.

Dexter POV

I saw legacy on the ground and I panicked, I picked her up and took her into my bedroom and laid her down on my bed. I went back out to the lounge, grabbed my phone and called Saracen. "Hey Dexter, what's up?" He asked in a casual voice, but I had no time for that. I needed to know something and since he claimed that his power was that he 'knew' things, he had to know what was going on with Legacy. "Legacy just collapsed and I don't know what's happening, can you use your thing and tell me please?"

Saracen recognised the serious tone in my voice and respected it in his reply. "She's going through the surge. Wait, how old is she? I thought she was too young to be going through the surge…" his voice trailed off in thought and I listened intently. "Look Dexter, you should call Ghastly and tell him what's happened. I know it could be awkward but you need to do it. It's never a good sign when people go through their surges early. They have either had something really traumatic happen to them recently or their power is so strong that they can't not develop it and let it out."

I agreed and hung up the phone, calling Ghastly. "Hi Vex, what do you want?" He asked when he answered the phone, probably not very happy with me as only a couple of hours ago he had found out that I was with Legacy. "Legacy's going through the surge; you'd better get to my place." Ghastly hung up straight away, and I knew that meant he was on his way.

After Ghastly got here with Tanith, we all waited. All we could do was wait until Legacy woke up. I went in to check on her every five minutes or so because I couldn't bear not to see if she was ok. I knelt down by the side of my bed and brushed her hair out of her face. I noticed that her skin had a lot less blemishes on it being almost completely smooth. It wasn't like that before. I had heard that the surge could change your appearance a bit and sometimes even your personality but it hardly ever happened. I had never in my hundreds of years alive, ever met someone who had such a thing happen to them, but the Sanctuary has documentation on it so I guess it has to be true, (not that I would completely trust everything that the say/write/document).

Legacy stirred and moved from the position she had been laid in four hours ago when I had picked her up from the kitchen floor and brought her in here. That meant she was waking up, and that it was over. I was so glad that it was over. She moved closer to me at the edge of the bed and whispered my name. "Dex." She said, her voice sounded a little softer than before, and her hands that reached for me were cold. "Legacy, can you open your eyes for me?" I asked, hoping to see that she was ok, wanting to see reassurance in her eyes that she hadn't changed. I liked her just the way she was. I loved her just the way she was.

Legacy POV/ Golden light and swirling emotions

I opened my eyes to see that Dexter was sitting in front of me, but he was sideways. Then I realised that I was lying down so I sat up, fast. Too fast in fact, because my head rushed with dizziness and I had to grab hold of his arms which were hovering around me as if he thought I would fall and break, so that I could steady myself. I felt a tingling sensation all over my body and had the sudden urge to look in a mirror. I felt relief flood through me, but what was I relieved about? I looked up at Dexter and found that the look on his face perfectly described the relief that I was feeling. That was curious.

I went to stand but instead was swept off my feet by Dexter who was so happy to see that I was ok, that he was hugging me. I started to feel happy too laughing along with Dexter, but didn't know why as being swung around was making me dizzy and disorientated. Then I felt a presence enter the room, then another. Dexter put me down and sat me back on the bed when he had realised what he had done and looked at me with concern. I could feel his concern radiating off him like a heater.

When my eyesight could focus once again I looked up at him and smiled when I saw what I could only think to be his aura. It swirled around him in golden hues and was mired by blue and red. I wondered what the colours meant as I stared avidly at them. They moved around his body in random waves and swirls that were too pretty not to look at. Then I saw a hand wave in front of my face and the aura was gone. I look up to see Tanith staring at me as though she had asked me a question and was awaiting the answer.

"Pardon?" I said, as I was still staring at the space on Dexter's body where the aura had been. "I asked you if you were okay Grace. Are you?" She asked again and I contemplated my answer. I felt different, in some way, disconnected and disorientated but I still felt like me. I still loved Dexter and I still missed my parents and hated Sanguine. The most troubling thing about the change I felt in myself was that all of my emotions were less conscious than the one's I could feel emulating off of the others in the room.

Ghastly was feeling worried and guilty. Tanith was feeling annoyed and worried about me and Dexter was really, really happy, relieved and a little bit sexually aroused and that last one confused me but I also found it amusing. I could feel all of their feelings and they over shadowed my own, I couldn't concentrate. I put my head in my hands trying to build a wall in my mind to keep them out but I couldn't.

The feelings all suddenly changed to extremely nervous and I looked up to see why and realised that I was glowing a golden colour that looked similar to that of Dexter's aura before. I stood and couldn't feel my feet on the ground. I tried to move forward and couldn't. I was stuck to the ground, unable to move at all. I wondered what was happening to me but before I could even think about how I could find that out, my mind went blank.

Dexter POV / She changed and then she left

She glowed. She actually glowed a beautiful golden colour that coiled around her body. The surge had made her into something else. All of a sudden her eyes closed and she slumped over a bit. The golden swirls surrounding her seemed to hold her up as if they had a mind of their own. After a few minutes of staring in awe, I finally snapped out of it. I moved forward and tried to reach out to Legacy, to pull her out from the madness that surrounded her. "Legacy, what's happening? Are you ok?" I asked.

I was pushed back forcefully by a tendril of golden light that emanated from Legacy. I looked up at her, hurt by her rejection but noticed that she had never responded to my questions. She was unconscious and wasn't moving. I looked over at Tanith and Ghastly to see that Ghastly was on his phone, calling who I don't know but it seemed that he would be gathering reinforcements. Tanith however, had a different approach to handling the situation. She had her sword out and was in a battle stance. I walked warily around Legacy and over to the door. "Tanith put your sword away, now." I growled. I would not let anything happen to Legacy, even if she was in this state.

We left the room and went into the lounge to see that Valkyrie and Skulduggery were here and looked concerned and curious. "Can I see her please?" asked Skulduggery, in his smooth velvety voice. It had stayed the same when he became a skeleton all those years ago. I nodded curtly and moved from in the hall door way and they both moved forward and into my room, Valkyrie smiled at me as she passed. I had always liked her, she was fun, sarcastic and always seemed to bring the soft side of Skulduggery out and nobody had seen that since his wife and child had been alive more than three hundred years hasn't forgiven China for killing them but that was understandable. I wouldn't forgive anyone who killed the people I loved either. My thoughts returned to that of Legacy and I wished that she was alright. I didn't know what I could do to help her and I hated feeling useless. I was a soldier and I was used to fighting to save people's lives but now, when Legacy was fighting for hers, I could do nothing. I hated myself for being able to do nothing.

About an hour had passed and Valkyrie and Skulduggery were still in with Legacy. I was starting to get annoyed that they were taking so long when I heard a crash and a scream. I ran to my room and I could hear Ghastly and Tanith following me down the hall. I opened the door with a bang and stormed in to find that Valkyrie was sitting on the ground next to Legacy who was now lying down as if she had fallen, the golden coils gone. I saw Skulduggery had shifted in the corner of the room and I turned to look at my friend. His forever smiling skull tilted itself to the side in contemplation.

"She has to learn how to control her new magic. She is a powerful sensitive, with magic that is very rare. She is an empath, which is a type of sensitive who can feel what other people can feel and I think her magic was protecting her because she had a rush of different emotions pressed onto her with no way of how to deal with it. She needs to go to Cassandra and learn how to use them and control them. Valkyrie and I will take her now, if you don't mind." He said firmly and as if he wasn't asking for permission. I understood that she was dangerous if she didn't learn to control her powers but I didn't want to let her out of my sight, my protective instincts kicking in.

I went to speak but I was cut off by Ghastly. "Is she ok though? Will she go back to the way she was before?" Valkyrie spoke next. "She will never be the exact same because being affected by everyone else's emotions all the time will make her different and less emotional herself. She will be unstable until she learns how to control her powers. I know from experience that having that much power makes you drunk with it. You get out of hand and that can be bad. She needs to have no distractions while she learns to deal with this." She looked pointedly at me when she said the last part, knowing of our relationship somehow. But then again, they were detectives so I shouldn't be surprised by this. They left in a hurry and I only got a few minutes alone with Legacy before she left.

"I love you, Legacy. Come back to me when you're better, ok?" I whispered into her ear and hugged her tightly. I kissed her forehead and let Skulduggery take her out of my arms and carry her to the Bentley that was parked outside the apartment building ten stories down. After they had left, I sat on the couch, with my head in my hands. She was gone, and I had no idea when she would be back. I missed her already.


	11. Ten Years Later

Ten years later

Legacy POV/ Training

I laughed as Cassandra told me a joke about some farmer and a tractor, not really finding it funny, but she did and I could feel her happiness inside of me. I tried to stifle the sensation and finally lost it, trapping it behind the imaginary wall I created in my mind. I smiled at my victory. Cassandra, though, pushed even harder with her emotions but I blocked them out. We continued our daily training and when we finished I helped her make dinner, clean up afterwards and then went to bed.

At night, thoughts of Dexter consumed me. I remembered our brief time together and how he felt in my arms. I missed him and now that I had finished controlling my power I could see him again. I hadn't had any contact with people outside of the sensitive township that they set up after Darquesse had done her destructive thing. I haven't talked to Ghastly, Tanith or Dex in ten years.

I leave tomorrow and Cassandra was very happy to get rid of me as she always found it really annoying that I could tell what she was feeling, as did a lot of the other sensitives around the town. They always avoided me and I hated that. Not only did I have no contact with the outside world, I also didn't have much contact with world that the sensitives lived in either. The occasional visit from sanctuary officials brightened my days considerably but they never sent anyone who knew Dex or any of his friends well enough to tell me about him and what he has been doing these past years. I know that I wasn't to be distracted by trivial things such as love and sex but sometimes it was all I could think about, he was all I could think about. I went to sleep expecting the usual dreams in which I got to see my friends again.

I woke up to my alarm clock that chimed at seven o'clock every morning on the dot. I got up and showered, brushed my teeth, did my hair, got dressed into a pair of denim skinny jeans and a black singlet top, pulling a nice woolen dark purple jumper over the top. I put on my combat boots and made my bed, then went down stairs to help set the table ready for breakfast. As I walked down the stairs I could hear the usual humming of Cassandra as she moved about in the kitchen, preferring to get up earlier to cook breakfast, as she liked to cook. I smelled bacon and sighed in delight and I could feel a different presence in the kitchen with her that wasn't usually there.

I sent my radar, as I liked to call it, out and scanned the stranger's emotions, they were excited and jumpy. I could tell that their usual everyday attitude towards life was upbeat and happy but today they were even more so and that made me curious. It wasn't every day that we had visitors. And then I remembered that I was going home today although, I didn't really know where home was seeing as I had lived here with Cassandra longer than I had with Ghastly and Tanith after my parents died. Another thing about being able to control my powers is that I can reign in my own emotions so that thinking about things like my parents death is much less painful.

Cassandra didn't like the fact that I did this though as she thought I should restore my emotions to the way they were before my surge but I thought it was easier to be emotionally detached from certain things i.e. my parents. I left my feelings for Dexter Vex alone though, hoping that the old saying 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' worked as well for Dexter as it has done for me. I wondered then, who the stranger was and if it was someone I knew. I reached out to evaluate their emotional state. As I said before, they were excited and happy, so they must be looking forward to something. I noticed a warm and friendly aspect to their excited-ness that made me think of Tanith and the brief time that I had been in her company when I had my magic and realised that it must be her.

I had been practicing identifying people by recognising their emotional state and normalcy with Cassandra last year and was glad that I had mastered it. I ran from the stairs and into the kitchen to see Tanith, looking the same as she had ten years ago, leaning up against the counter talking to Cassandra whilst she made breakfast. She turned around when she heard my footsteps and looked up at me. I froze and so did she. We stared at each other, in awe of being together after all this time. When I was a kid, Tanith and I had been as close as sisters, her taking me in when I had nowhere else to go. I had missed her so much and I could tell that she had too because I could literally feel the joy emulating from her as she unfroze and jumped onto me, wrapping her legs around my waist and hugging her arms around my shoulders.

"Legacy Grace." She yelled. I too wrapped my arms around her mid-section and hugged her back. "Tanith Low." I yelled back. After a while she started to get heavy so I said "Tan, if you don't get of me now, I'm going to break." in an amused voice as she had started crying. I found her tears weirdly unnecessary but kind of flattering at the same time as she was crying because she was so happy to see me. We talked for a while until she abruptly said "Oh shit, I was only meant to come in and get you, I have Ghastly in the car." She laughed sheepishly and stood up and skipped out the front door to go and get him.

While she was gone I went upstairs to pack the things I hadn't got a chance to do yesterday and then brought them down stairs. I had one suit case full of clothes and shoes and a box full of books that I had bought with the salary I got from my part time job at the library which I utilised fully. I was only allowed two shifts a week and the contact with people other than Cassandra allowed me to practice using my magic on other people. I sat my things down near the door as I felt Ghastly's presence in the lounge room.

I ran in and saw him standing there, in all his epic glory. He still had his scars across his face, I had missed those scars. I had always found them fascinating as I thought he looked rather handsome with the scars as did Tanith but nobody else shared our fascination. I walked over to him and hugged him around the waist and his hands went around my back. "It's good to see you too Legacy." He said in his deep gruff voice. I stood back and looked at them both, realising that they were emulating the same kind of energy, I know that because they kind of taste the same and smell the same as well as feel the same.

I flicked an imaginary switch that turned on my aura seeing ability and found that there was a brown circle swirling around Ghastly's aura and a green one around Tanith's. This meant that they were in love with each other and had done something to celebrate that love ceremonially. They had been married. That was so exciting. But I would wait for Tanith to tell me they had done so as she wasn't wearing a wedding ring and on closer inspection neither was Ghastly. I wonder what's gone on there but I didn't dwell on it at the moment and flicked my aura seeing off.


	12. Going Home

Going home

I said goodbye to Cassandra and thanked her for taking care of me and teaching me how to handle my magic. She told me I was welcome back any time and I thanked her again. Ghastly and Tanith had taken my things out to the car as I was saying goodbye. I walked out the front door and looked back at the two story house. It was beautiful sandstone, with white doors and raised rose gardens out the front. I was going to miss this place, but I missed Dexter and all my friends more. Ghastly and Tanith looked at me and understanding was flowing from them as if to say take your time. I got in the car and we drove to Roarhaven, which took about five hours. The sensitives liked the country side as it was relaxing and less destruction happened when you lived away from people like Skulduggery and Valkyrie. I didn't mind the drive back but I could tell that Tanith was getting a bit bored.

We finally got there and we went to an apartment building that I had never seen before, it must have been built while I was away. Then I came to the realisation that I had missed out on a lot of things that had happened while I was away. I would have to ask Tanith to fill me in on some of them later. We pulled up outside said building and Tanith and Ghastly got out and got my things from the boot. I wondered if they had moved and then realised that I was twenty eight. Twenty eight year olds lived along, which was reasonable and I liked the idea.

"We have arranged an apartment for you Legacy." said Ghastly, "The first two month's rent have been paid for so that you have time to get used to living there and to get a job." As he said this, an intense wave of guilt washed over me and it came from Tanith. I looked over at her to see that she was looking down at her feet. "I haven't even seen in side and I love it. You didn't have to do this for me you know. I could have arranged something…" I was grateful that they had done this for me, and was keen to look around. But there was something I wanted to know first. Where was Dexter? He said he loved my hours before I went through the surge. You don't just forget about the feelings you have for a person, they never go away. They stay with you, each new experience changing who you are; I can see it in people's auras.

I pushed the urge to ask where he was aside and we went upstairs as I was nervous to ask about it, afraid that I be hurt by the answer. We took the elevator up ten stories and that reminded me of Dex and how his apartment had been on the tenth floor of his building. We got to the door and the number was 44. I opened and stepped into a lounge room that had cream coloured walls and a feature wall that was painted red. There was furniture on one side of the room and a kitchen on the other. The hallway was in between and it reminded me of the way Dex's apartment was set up.

I walked forward and went down the hall way, opening doors as I went, finding the laundry and the bathroom, the toilet and my bedroom. My bedroom was filled with all of the things that I had had at Tanith and Ghastly's house. My books were arranged neatly on the shelf to my left and my desk was next to that. My bed was made with blue sheets and a doona. I walked back out and into the kitchen, looking at the fridge.

"Do I need to go shopping for food?" I asked as I looked in some of the cupboards to find that they were filled with utensils and stuff. "Nope, we took care of all of that for you. Look I hate to do this but we have to go. I have a meeting with the other elders at the sanctuary and Tanith has to go and meet Valkyrie. We'll call you. There should be a new cell phone with all the important numbers and addresses and things in your desk draw. See you later." And with that they left me to my own devices.

I wandered around the apartment, looking at all the things that were there. The couches had a floral pattern on them and were comfortable enough. There was a laptop sitting on a stand where you would think a television would go, but I never really watched TV so I was grateful for that. There were various items around the place that made it look more comfortable like a furry red rug in the middle of the couch area, a painting of a rose garden hanging on the wall and a vase full of lilies sitting on the kitchen counter.

On closer inspection I found a note attached to them. I opened it up and read it aloud. "Dear Legacy, I regret that I am not there to great you at this time. Seeing you soon, love Dexter Vex." What could that mean? I could feel regret and excitement and guilt emulating from the card which meant that Dexter had only just left it here otherwise his emotions would have faded by now. God, I missed him. I decided to go and see if I could find that phone that Ghastly had talked about, wanting to know if Dexter's number had been put in there.

I got to my desk and opened the first draw to find letters; Letters upon letters that friends had sent me over the years. I had left with no notice and had said no goodbyes, but the dates stoped around five months after I left. I wonder what story Ghastly made up to tell them where I had gone. I finally found the phone, buried under a couple of the letters and off to the side. It was one of the latest iPhones and didn't have a pin number so I could get into it easily. I went into the contacts list and scrolled down until I got to D. His name was there and his address was the same. I decided that talking over the phone would be awkward and that the note in the flowers made it weird so going face to face would be better. I could read him better this way.


End file.
